Journal: Bulletin for Biblical Research
Volume: BBR 10:1 (NA 2000)
Article: Creation, Genesis 1-11, and the Canon
Author: John Sailhamer

BBR 10:1 (2000) p. 89

Creation, Genesis 1-11, and the Canon

John Sailhamer

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

The compositional strategy of Genesis 1-11 is reflected in the shape of the Pentateuch as a whole. It appears that the author of Genesis 1-11 is the author of the whole Pentateuch. His views can be seen in the way programmatic poetic texts have been distributed throughout the pentateuchal narratives. Explanatory comments inserted into the ancient poems, such as “in the last days”‘ and “ships shall come out from the Kittim,” reflect an overriding interest in an eschatology similar to that of the late prophetic literature—for example, Ezekiel and Daniel. A central purpose of the eschatological framework of the Pentateuch is to bring the whole of Genesis 1-11 into the realm of Israel’s own history and thus prepare the way for an understanding of concepts such as the Kingdom of God in terms of the concrete realities of creation.

Key Words: Genesis 1-11, creation, canon, canonical context

0. Introduction

My aim in this essay is to make a few preliminary observations on the theology of Genesis 1-11 within the context of the Pentateuch and the Hebrew canon. My focus will not be on the bulk of the material in these chapters. I will not be looking at the creation account as such or the fall or the accounts of Cain and Abel, the flood, or the Tower of Babel. My focus, rather, will be on the way these stories have been integrated into the whole of the Pentateuch and, especially, the very last stages of this process, the formation of the OT canon. In pursuing this question, I do not intend to look extensively outside the Pentateuch. Although that would be a fruitful search, I believe there are already ample traces of canonical composition within the Pentateuch. Though they are few in number, their importance to the meaning of the Pentateuch as a whole, in my opinion, cannot be overestimated. This, at least, should be our starting point in seeking to understand Genesis 1-11 within its larger canonical context.

BBR 10:1 (2000) p. 90

1. The Theology Of Genesis 1-11 Within The Context Of The Pentateuch

To position myself correctly for approaching Genesis 1-11 theologically, let me raise two well-known biblical-theological questions about Genesis 1-11. The first wa...